Part of Series
The students are Starhurst are excited about Mrs. Crandall's plans to purchase a piece of property at Moon Lake for a girls' camp. Five girls, including Louise and Jean Dana, earn the privilege of accompanying Mrs. Crandall to the proposed site on a weekend outing. Much to the Danas' dismay, Lettie Briggs makes the trip as well since Mrs. Crandall has promised her parents to look after Lettie while they are away. The trip proves to be exciting, because the house located on the proposed camp property appears to be haunted. At any rate, someone else is staying in the house inside the locked attic room and only comes out at night when the Starhurst group is asleep. With difficulty, the girls convince Mrs. Crandall to extend their stay so that the mystery can be solved. If the girls can prove that the proposed camp property is not dangerous, Mrs. Crandall will purchase the property for the school.
Author
Carolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator. Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten. Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.
